THE TRINITY

-


“And the Holy Spirit, Amen.” I faintly heard as my wandering mind returned to the present moment. The mind has its freedom, and I believe it’s the only free thing a prisoner has. I was in the Catholic church for my aunt’s burial. Though my body was present, my mind was travelling through the past, the present, and the future.

In the past, I remembered a woman called Dashi. Dashi was part of the African traditional religion and very devoted. Just like in other religions, there were levels and titles. For her long years of devotion, she had her title and was called Dashi. Her name, “Dashi,” meant the snake goddess.

Dashi was a very good woman, kind, generous, and witty. She was known in our village for making the best roasted groundnuts and maize, and we were always the first to taste them. On days we weren’t around, she would leave them with our grandma or mum for us. It was the same with her "Bora" and other foods she sold.

Dashi didn’t only share her food with us. She also shared stories of her journey through life and interesting tales she had heard growing up. Like all believers, she obeyed the rules of her religion. There were rules about clothing she strictly adhered to, when and where to wear slippers, and even days when her wrinkled, crispy dark chocolate skin needed oiling so the sun could see itself on it.

On Sundays, if she wasn’t ahead of me on her way to the beach to sell, she would ask me to pray for her when I informed her that I was going to church. Despite our different beliefs, we lived as one people, sharing food and creating the best memories.

When I remembered her, it was because of her kindness, generosity, and memories we shared. I wondered if her religion taught her to be kind or if it was simply because she was human.

Then, my wandering mind returned to the present. I had just called a Muslim bike rider and trusted him with some money to get something for me. Bube is from Niger and has been my customer for some time. It reminded me of when I first started working in Ashaiman. The Muslims welcomed me as if I were their sister, daughter, or friend who had just returned home. They showed me where to get the best food and drinking water, how to live peacefully among the people, and how to avoid trouble when I saw it coming. They treated me with so much care that I now have mothers, brothers, and sisters among them.

Right in front of me, the priest in all solemnity was speaking about life here on earth and the journey after. After every speech, he ended in the name of the Trinity. There were people clad in black, with red eyes from crying, and yet, all my mind could do was wander. I thought of the person we were laying to rest, someone whose life had ended, but there, a new journey was said to begin.

As the priest talked about our roles in this world and the work we were sent to do, I wondered if the creators of those who don’t follow Christianity had also tasked them with similar purposes.Because Dashi of ATR, did all that, Bra YUSSIF has done all that,too yet they've never been here.

And what about those who do evil? Did their creator send them to do evil so that they might be glorified for fulfilling their purpose after death?

Perhaps there are others of evil, but I believe the good we do to people is not only because of religion but because we have the God in Us.

That’s why, when the guy who says he is an atheist does all the good things we’ve been asked to do in the Bible, I tell myself, he is human, and therefore has a God in him.

In the future, I believe there's a God who lives in us. And that God urges us to show love, kindness and compassion despite our colour,tribe,status and religious differences.


The Trinity to me is Love, Faith and Humanity.

@MEDRAITS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Dr. K

-
Dear Dr. K, I've typed and deleted many texts, including one captioned “Hii Laadiiiess,” since “Hi Ladies” reminds me of your beautiful smile. I've been deleting and retyping because I don't know where to end or continue from. You are an amazing human❤️. And let's see if this works. Growing up, I had a lot of dreams. I remember my sister used to ask me to write where I saw myself in the next five years, starting from that year, and how everything should add up to get there. I used to write them in this blue Cinderella diary that had a lock so no one could access it, but somehow I feel life always had the key. Over the years, I've given up on many of the dreams I had. Anytime life threw a blow, one dream went down, and it continued until one day I told myself that life and I are probably polar opposites. Anytime things go wrong and we go in the same direction, things turn topsy-turvy. I remember one time after asking why bad things happen to me, my sister said, “M...
Read more

DEAR MEN

-
         A LETTER TO THE GENTLEMEN Dear Gentleman, I wanted to say the brightness of the day has given me this unique opportunity to write y'all this letter but looking at me wrapped in one of my mother's favorites clothes this dawn and shivering like a wet chicken, permit me to say the coldness of this early dawn breeze has pushed me to write y'all this letter. Before you run ahead of me because of "coldness" I want you to also know the matter is not a good one so just hold your smile and stick to my line both literally and figuratively.  In one of my random thoughts and in finding the answer to the question "Why do men lie?"My inner man, who is so far one of the men who hasn't lied or tried to be who he is not, dragged me to the Garden of Eden, and made me watch from the beginning when the serpent appeared till the end when Adam had to lie to save Eve. It then dawned on me, men lie to protect women. In fact, Adam did, how much more are the sons of ...
Read more

THE ENEMY WITHIN

-
 THE ENEMY WITHIN  The first day I placed the voice to the profile and name “Edward Asare” was on the 5th of May, 2024. His voice wasn't just the one that tells you to do A to make it B for the media and your person, but it was that voice that re-echoes within you when the pastor is preaching and it feels like God revealed to him to point at you with his voice only. It was the voice that you feel was directed only at you. He talked extensively about stopping people from defining you and being positive. Tell yourself how beautiful and wonderful you are. He talked about setting a reminder and believing in yourself. At the end of his talk, I realized that for me to be a better person, I need to be the one to control my mind, believe in myself and put in the needed effort; it is centred on me. It was one of the best sessions I had in May because it placed me on the spot. I have to be the one. But I had an enemy: my mind. My mind has been the enemy within that reminds me always abo...
Read more